Towards Effective Place Brand Management Branding European Cities and Regions
Edited by Gregory Ashworth
Professor of Heritage Planning and Urban Tourism, Llniversity of Groningen, the Netherlands
Mihalis Kavaratzis Associate Professor of Marketing and Tourism, International Business School Budapest, Hungary
Edward Elgar Cheltenham, UK. Northampton, MA, USA O Gregory Ashworth and Mihalis Kavaratzis 2010
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ISBN 978 I 848442429
Printed and bound by MPG Books Group, UK Contents
List oJ Jtgures vll List of tables viii List of contributors ix
1. Place branding: where do we stand? Mihalis Kqvaratzis and Gregory Ashworlh 2. Place branding theory: a cross-domain literature review from a marketing perspective 15 Graham Hankin,son 3. Is corporate branding relevant to places? Mihalis Kavaratzis 4. Place marketing, local identity and branding cultural images in Southern Europe: Nea Ionia, Greece and Pafos, Cyprus Alex Deffner and Theodore Metaxa.s 5. Branding Madrid: from'Madrid Global' to'global Madrid' María Cristina Mateo and Gildo Seisdedo.v 6. Managing Otherness: the political economy of place images in the case of Tuscany 89 Nícola Bellini, Anna Lffiedo and Cecilia Pasquinelli 1 . Place-making or place branding? Case studies of Catalonia and Wales 116 Assumpció Huertas Roig, Annelte Pritchard and Nigel Morgan 8. Branding Aalborg: building community or selling place? 136 Anette Therkelsen, Henrik Halkier and Ole B. Jensen 9. Mind the gap: reputation, identity and regeneration in post-ind ustrial cities 156
Myfanwy Trueman, l'{ e larine Corneliu.s, Mirza Mohammed Ali Baig and Joyce Liddle 10. The'be Berlin' campaign: old wine in new bottles or innovative form of participatory place branding? t73 CÌaire Colomb and Ares Kalandides 1 l. Place satisfaction of city residents: findings and implications for city branding l9t Andrea Insch and Magdalena Florek ri Towards effective place brand management
12. Semiotics and place branding: the influence of the built and natural environment in city logos 205 Gary Warnaby and Dominic Medway 13. Personality association as an instrument of place branding: possibilities and pitfalls 222 Gregory Ashworth 14. Conclusion: in search of effective place brand management 234 Gregory Ashworth and Mihalis Kavaratzis
References 240 Index 269 6. Managing Otherness: the political economy of place images in the case of Tusc any Nicola Bellini, Anna Loflredo and Cecilia Pasquinelli
INTRODUCTION
Discussions about image and branding policies are usually placed in the framework of 'place marketing' and marketing literature helps in defining the features, components and main characters of image and of its relation- ship with local identity. We suggest, howevet, that managing images is also a political process with significant impact in supporting and shaping the scenario (perceptions and expectations) for innovation and economic policies (Bellini, 2004). The argument is supported by two different and complementary case studies from Tuscany (Italy). The first one discusses the case olareas that show a divergence from the dominating pattern of social and economic development in the region. It is shown that 'managing otherness' is more than a communication problem and may reveal underlying ambiguities: at the same time, a request for supporting structurally disadvantaged areas and the affirmation of an alternative identity and of alternative development patterns. The second case study shows a different kind of 'otherness', concerning new industries and emerging social groups. Discussion shows that the branding process may imply a competition between images in order to control the represen- tation of the past, present and future of an area. This competition aims at influencing the policy agenda by manipulating the gaps between image and identity.
89 90 Towards effective place brand ntanagement THE THEORY
The Lessons from Marketing
Place image (the image of a region, of a city etc.) has come to the atten- tion of both scholars and practitioners mostly within the framework of place marketing in its three main variations defined by its target (inward investors, tourists, residents) as well as with relerence to country-of-origin effects on product image (Kotler and Gertner,2002; Rainisto, 2003; Jaffe and Nebenzahl,2006; van Ham,2008). It is certainly a concept with a longer history, but it is marketing that has framed it in a consistent way and, above all, has tried to operationalize it. Place branding has been defined as the practice of applying brand strategy and other marketing techniques and disciplines to the economic, social, political and cultural development of cities, regions and countries. Marketing has thus provided 'a philosophy of place management' (Ashworth and Voogd, 1994:39) and place branding has attempted to transfer into local economic develop- ment not only some communication techniques, but also the identity- building power, the linking value and the emphasis on experience that 'post-modern' scholars attach to brands (Kavaratzis and Ashworth, 2005; The Communication Group, 2006; Kavaratzis, 2007; Anholt, 2007). V/ithout doubt, marketing has either strengthened or introduced some serious biases in the way we look at place images. The emphasis on distinctiveness and competitiveness has reflected an obsession with urban and regional 'entrepreneurialism' as well as with an easily misconceived 'customer orientation'. Furthermore marketing implies a competitive, quasi-mercantilist view of regional and local development that is increas- ingly unrealistic (or at least, partially misleading) in the networkJike, 'coopetitive' scenario of today (cf. Kalandides, 2007a). Lastly, branding tends to be seen as a technocratic activity, representing the belief in the virtues of professionalism in public management, as opposed to old- fashioned politics. On a more technical side, the dominance of marketing approaches aimed at attracting economic actors, such as tourists and inward investors, has led to emphasize strong, seductive images ('a special place to be'). The new priorities in the 'knowledge economy', and especially the emphasis on attractiveness with regard to residents belonging to certain social groups (such as the 'creative class'), imply to re-focus attention on the quality of everyday life and of the 'ordinary place'. Marketing lessons are nonethe- less fundamental also from a policy perspective. As marketing teaches us, image is bound to have important effects which can be dangerous when they are not monitored or when they are not dealt with: Managing Otherness: the case of Tuscany 9l
image reflects and synthesizes the experiences and visions of indi- viduals and groups, from which it derives. Two aspects co-exist: the evqluative component which reflects our experiences and what we perceive as real, and the preferential component which portrays the desires and motivations, in short, what we wish the area to be like (cf. Ashworth and Voogd,1990a:11et seq.); image communicates and shapes expectations with respect to what the area can or should give to individuals. This concerns not only explicit expectations (those which, even though they are not nec- essarily realistic, clearly define problems and solutions), but also those much more difficult to manage - which are implicit (taken for granted or which are not subject to discussion), or even fuzzy (as they are schematic, ideological, emotional, and not based on a clear understanding of what should be done concretely and how); image is a filter that influences the perception olthe area, the quality of life and services, the level of development and the (individual and collective) expectations about the future. It obviously also filters communication: a positive image reinforces the credibility of mes- sages, whereas a negative image reduces their credibility; a positive image allows minor problems not to be emphasized, but can result in underestimating emerging threats, whereas a negative image on the other hand can lead to the dramatization of marginal questions but can also raise attention in time by emphasizing weak signals; o image is self-reinforcing through the activities olactors that conform to the expectations and through their subjective evaluations based on the relationship between perception and expectations (Figure 6.1). When an image has been consolidated, it is likely to be self-fulfilling.
From Marketing to Policy
In our view, marketing is no substitute for policy. Still marketing can be functional to policy, especially when we consider it in a governance per- spective. By the term 'governance' we mean a variety of guidance mecha- nisms, not necessarily restricted to public actors, whereby social processes are consciously directed in situations ofinterdependence. The concept that allows best to describe and understand the pracfical meaning and impli- cations of governance is 'policy network'. We define policy networks as '(more or less) stable patterns of social relations between interdependent actors, which take shape around policy problems and/or policy program- mers' (Kickert et al., 1997). Policy networks are therefore alternative to tra- ditional ways of government (and, to a large extent, also to contemporary 92 Towards effective place brand management
Source: Author's own
Figure 6.1 Image, expectations and feedback mechanisms
approaches of 'new' public management). The management of policy networks can take place at two different levels, using substantially dif- ferent sets of tools. On the one hand, the structure of the network can be influenced, for example, through the composition, the number of actors, its openness, the internal rules, the introduction of new actors and the exclusion of some of the present actors, etc. Branding policies seem indeed highly dependent on the level and quality of available social capital: on the effectiveness of consensus-building, interactive procedures; on a substan- tial degree ofinclusiveness and on the actols' restraining from opportunis- tic behaviour (Ward, 2000; Rizzi and Scaccheri, 2006). On the other hand, at the cognitive level, it is possible to influence the perception, the views and expectations, to anticipate the exclusion of diverging ideas and views, to facilitate interaction and to promote a common language, to induce collective reflection and to prevent cognitive lock-in etc. Therefore the toolbox of industrial and innovation policies also includes a set of 'second generation' policy instruments, which impact on the cognitive dimensions of local networks in the attempt to govern their evolution through the formation of perceptions and expectations and which incorporate the management of regional/city images through branding (cf. Bellini and Landabaso, 2007). This is especially true when policies deal with complex processes like innovation an . . . what is critical is how this information is processed, via mental processes of cognition, to form stable and learned images of place, which are the basis for our everyday interactions with the environment. It is the mental maps that individuals create that allow them to navigate through complex reality, because 'our surroundings are often more complex than the sense we make of them'. Branding deals specifically with such mental images. place branding centres on people's perceptions and images and puts them at the heart oforchestrated activities, designed to shape the place and its future. Managing the place brand becomes an attempt to influence and treat those n-rental maps in a way that is deemed favourable to the present circumstances and luture needs ol the place (Kavaratzis and Ashworth, 2005:507). The political relevance olplace branding is twofold. First, the image of an area (region, city) reflects its identity. As such we are not dealing with objective, technical data, but with a social, historical and highly subjective (and sometimes even artificial) construct, which consists of the total of affective and rational images produced by individual actors or by groups of actors. These images show the values that the various grollps connect to the area, to its characteristics and its identity. 'In defining their discourses of inclusion and exclusion that constitute identity, people call upon an affinity with places or, at least, with representation of places, which, in turn, are used to legitimate their claim to those places' (Ashworth and Graham, 2005:3). It is in this way that groups take possession of a geographic space, synthesizing their view of the area in stereotypes and 'labels' and creating 'myths' through the selective narration of the social, economic and historic characteristics of the area. Through appropriate governance processes this may lead to increased social and political cohe- sion about related policies, constructing a sustainable 'brand purpose' (Anholt,2007). However 'different people, at different times. for different reasons, create different narratives of belonging. Place images are thus user deter- mined, polysemic and unstable through time' (Ashworth and Graham, 2005:3). When different images coexist at a certain time, there may then be a competition between images in order to control the representation of the past/present/future of a territory and therefore the policy agenda. Secondly. in dynamic contexts there may be coherence or incoherence between 'image' and 'product' as a result of conscious manipulation. In some cases, a prevalence ol prelerential over evaluative components is generated in order to anticipate a change in a reasonably nearby future, which some social groups want to strive for: a 'better' area (city or region), more livable and/or wealthier and/or more modern than it effectively is. The imagery therelore overlaps and expresses the vision that those groups envisage and to which they are committed (cf. Hospers, 2004, 2006). In other cases evaluative components are misleading. Situations of 94 Tot ards effective place brand management political and cognitive lock-in in 'post-paradigmatic' areas can generate stereotypical images referring to historic production structures. These images are outdated and which is worse - can hamper innovative changes. Emerging industries and social gloups are not recognized or dis- missed as transitional, non-credible and non-reliable phenomena. THE IMAGE OF TUSCANY Features and Components By all standards Tuscany has a strong, high-profile and widely recognized image. According to a recent survey (Cavalieri, 2001), more than 90 per cent of German consumers know the brands 'Toscana' and 'Firenze'. 'Firenze' is also known by 75 per cent of consumers in US and Japan, while the recognition of 'Toscana' is lower, but still relevant (more than 40 per cent). In some countries the familiarity with Tuscany identifies social and even political groups. In British and American literature (as also reminded by movies such as 'A Room with a View', 'The English Patient' and 'stealing Beauty') Tuscany is a sort of exotic dreamland where the beauty of landscape and art takes away inhibitions and frees the souls, so that visitors discover their own feelings, emotions and sensuality. In German political jargon the expression'Toskana-fraktíon' is used to indicate a number of left-wing intellectuals, sharing a custom of spending holidays in Tuscan countryside and therefore suspected of mixing revolutionary ideals and hedonistic behaviour. Tuscany's image is primarily linked to tourism. The tourist image of Tuscany is an unparalleled blend of intellectual and emotional compo- nents. History, culture and the past shape the region's image from the Etruscan Coast to the medieval villages and the renaissance cities. Thanks to its glorious past, a sense of nobility, greatness and magnificence is con- veyed to the visitors: 'Tuscany: noble and great region'. Cities like Siena define themselves as a 'strip of land rich in coat of arms and nobility' and their distinctiveness is described as'aristocratic exclusiveness'' The reference to art is obvious, due to the extraordinary, internationally recognizable assets inherited from history with 'brands' such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Piero della Francesca etc. Tuscany's streets are 'Houses of the Memory' of eminent figures in the history of knowledge, such as Dante Alighieri' Complementary to history is Nature, that perfect symbiosis man nature that is detectable in the famous Tuscan landscape: 'The ideal place to spend your holiday time'. The mix of nature and history makes Tuscany Managing Otherness. the case oJ Tuscany 95 'genuine': 'A glow of genuineness that surrounds everything with perfumes of Tuscany'. Within this overall 'Green Tourism' approach, man-nature interactions are varied. They are related to sport and to the availability of biking and walking itineraries, allowing for 'Slow Tourism'. So, for example, the White Streets in Siena are presented as the icon of tourism in Tuscany, because they are streets without cars, where people walk for hours. More recently promotion placed new emphasis on thermal baths, as connected with relaxation and health: 'Tuscany: the region of well-being'. A fundamental field of interaction between man and nature is food. In Tuscany there is an obvious link between green, slow tourism, on one hand, and wine and food, on the other. Along Tuscany's 'Wine Roads', innumerable opportunities to 'taste local culture' are available to the edu- cated gourmet: About a territory, as ours is, we can say that's sufficient shaking it to make good food and products fall down. . . if you shake it a little more, you make theatre fall down'. Wine is 'the flag bearer of Tuscany in the world', 'the faithful image of Tuscan culture and tradition'. Nature, food, art, a human dimension of living distant from stressful contemporary world make up for a sweet life, the dolce vita (an expression usually kept in the original Italian) (Cavalieri, 2001:35). Moreover, Tuscany does not change. In some cases 'timeless images' are proposed, but more often the reference to key phases of Tuscan history is explicit. The preservation of the 'real Tuscany' through centuries is presented as a fundamental value: 'Time seems to have stopped'. Visiting Tuscany is experiencing history. In the case of Siena, the rite of the 'Palio' game brings history into real life: 'Siena is an itinerary that joins past and future'; 'A scrap of history that shows up in the present'. Food and wine also show their deep historic roots, as they are connected with traditional know-how of rural areas: 'Oil production goes back to seventh century BC'; Sangiovese was the grape- vine of the Etruscan people; etc. Food and wine speak about history. The Weaknesses of a Strong Image The Tuscan case proves the 'weaknesses of strong images'. Tuscany's images can be confused and ambiguous as much as they are obvious and stereotypical. This is clearly shown by the many 'missing links' that are often revealed between different place brands: is Florence in Tuscany? is Florence the same as Tuscany? where is the leaning tower of Pisa? Tuscany's identity runs serious risks of 'commodification' (cf. Simon, 2005:32 et seq.), as shown by the emergence of alternative tourist loca- tions labelled as 'the new Tuscany'. According to the New York Times, the Italian Region Le Marche may be 'the next Tuscany', with advantages compared to the real one such as being less crowded, not yet discovered 96 Toward,s effective place brand management ('secret'), quiet and unused to tourism, while offering similar postcard features (converted farmhouses, small and picturesque Italian towns, traditional products and wines, roliing vineyards, hills, golden grain fields topped by crumbling castles, simple people rooted in the territory, rural life, sunflower fields etc.). It is suggested that this is an 'Authentic Italy that's vanishing from other parts of his homeland'. It is 'what Tuscany was': 'This is what Tuscany must have felt like l0 or 20 years ago, before it was discovered by tour groups and their omnipresent buses, carrying thousands and thousands oftravellers who flock there each year to try to recreate the pleasure of "ljnder the Tuscan Sun", a Tuscany so crowded with British expatriates and second-home owners that that country's press calls it Chianti-shire. . . Tuscany is an increasingly challenging place to have an intimate encounter with true Italy'. Signiflcant challenges come from other countries. Again the New York Times finds 'The Tuscan Life' in Croatia and its cheaper second-home market. According to this report, 'the government would like the region to resemble a mix of Tuscany and Provence. . . somehow more honest and much more user-friendly. (. . .) We heard this was the New Tuscany. But you can't get places in Tuscany like this any more'. In Bulgaria (namely in Veliko Tarnovo Region, Gabrovo Region and Lovech Region), a growing real estate market, rurality, nature, a unique culture in vibrant old towns, exquisite landscape, rural traditions, timber-and-stone houses legitimate an active real estate agency to be named 'The New Tuscany Ltd'' Also in Alentejo (Portugal) and Priorat (Catalonia) being 'like Tuscany' is a positive element to be emphasized in area marketing. To sum up, the idea of being 'like Tuscany', the 'new Tuscany'. the 'next Tuscany' seems to be spreading rapidly' Adding to a more or less vague physical resemblance to the original, all 'other Tuscanies' seem to provide an increasingly generic, globalized 'authentic experience'based on some 'uniqueness of culture', a 'theme park' that gives tourists the 'feel of Tuscany'. TUSCANIES Not Just Florence 'Tuscany' is also unable to represent the different 'Tuscanies' (Cavalieri, 1999). The variety of landscapes and societies that make up the present Region of Tuscany is hardly reflected in the 'strong image' that is known worldwide. Thus we often find the need to define or brand parts of the region as the 'other TuscanY'. Managing Otherne,c.s: the t'ase of Tuscany 97 trirenze/Florence is the dominating brand, standing out of the crowd of the other Tuscan images. Quality, centrality, excellence, traditions, taste, culture as well as the mix of urban features and countryside fascination (the 'Chianti-shire') make this city a high-value 'oasis' compared to the rest ol Tuscany (as suggested by local place marketing). Only 50 per cent of German consumers know about other Tuscan cities: Siena, Pisa, Lucca. Only 8 per cent of Americans and Japanese know about other cities, namely Siena and Pisa. Due to the successful development of the local airport as gateway for an increasing number ol international visitors, the image of Pisa is very often one with the image of Tuscany. In their schedules, major international airlines prefer to name the airport not Pisa, but 'Pisa Florence' (Ryanair), 'Pisa/Tuscany' (Delta) or 'Pisa (Tuscany)' (Easyjet). Then, there is the 'other' Tuscany. As a communication device in tourism marketing, 'other' is used to suggest the opportunity to look for alternative/minor destinations, that are still unknown, not yet discovered and crowded by major flows ol tourists: little medieval towns, wine areas not as celebrated as Chianti etc. But 'other' does not necessarily reflect positive values: it may mean separate, distant, backward, discriminated. . . At least two areas in the Region are 'other': Lunigiana in the North and Maremma in the South. The latter case is discussed in the following pages. Maremma The Province of Grosseto (Figure 6.2) occupies the southern extremity of Tuscany and is the largest province of Tuscany (4504 sq km). The number ol inhabitanfs (220142 in 2006) makes it one ol the provinces with the lowest population density per square kilometre (49 inhab./sq km). The Province administers a total of 28 towns spread over hilly inland areas, isolated mountains (such as the eastern part occupied by Monte Amiata) and, near the coastal zone, a plain better known as 'Maremma', which is crossed by rivers, interrupted by promontories (rocky coastlines) and characterized by wetlands and marshland. The southern islands ol the Tuscan Archipelago (such as Giglio and Giannutri) are also part of the Province. The provincial economy shows characters and performance that clearly differ from the rest ol Tuscany, a Region that, starting from the second half of the twentieth century, has joined the North of Italy as one ol the most advanced areas in the country (Table 6.1). Already in 1969, a renowned economist, Barucci, concluded a report on the local economy by stating that 'also Tuscany has its South. A great part of this depressed Tuscany is Grosseto' (Barucci, 1969). IRPET (ú o o F o d -o ! o òo OU E tr Y\ E'- -HÙ oca iv t!o\\ o' !v .E\ Éa- oÉb: &,òo ..l Sòo qq 98 Managing Otherness: lhe case of Tuscany 99 Table 6.1 Added t)alue in the economic sectors in the Province of Grosseto 2003 Sectors % in the Province of % in the Region of Grosseto Tuscany Agriculture, forestry and fishing 590 t10 Fashion industry 1.20 6.20 Mechanics 1.10 4.60 Other manufactures 7.00 12.30 Construction 5.10 4.70 Trade 21.40 1 8.50 Services )).tlt 32.80 Public administration, education, 22.20 t9.20 health, other services Total 100.00 100.00 Sourt'e: IRPET 2005 (2003), the regional research institute for economic planning, openly stressed the diversity in an official report entitled 'La Provincia di Grosseto: I'altrq Toscarza?' (Grosseto Province: the other Tuscany?). In the report Grosseto's 'otherness' is based on economic grounds: a development model different from the 'classic' model followed by the rest of Tuscany ('pre-industrial . . . or rather non industrial'; statistical economic indexes (population, employment rate, income. . .) that are consistently lower than the rest ofthe region; distance lrom the core ofregional development (the Arno valley axis), emphasized by the lack of adequate infrastructures. The growth of the economy in Grosseto is constrained by major struc- tural deficits. Most often Grosseto ranks last in Tuscany with regard to infrastructures: setting an index equal to 100 for Italy, the province of Grosseto reaches 48.8 for the road network (Tuscany = 100.6), ll .l for the rail network (Tuscany = 128.5), 71.3 for the airports (Tuscany = 100.4) and only 33.6 for the port network (Tuscany = 128.8). This infrastructural gap (that worsened in the last fifteen years) makes Grosseto, despite its geographical position, a kind of island' within an otherwise advanced region. The demographic trend shows an ageing population, with a con- sequent reduction in productivity: the category over 64 rose from 20.6per cent in 1991 to 24.9 per cent in 2005, leading to a reduction in weight of the working age population (15-64 years) from 68 per cent in l99l to 64.1 per cent in 2005. The viability (and identity) of an economy still based on rurality is clearly in danger when 45 per cent of farmers are over 65 years old and 96 per cent ofentrepreneurs are over 60. 100 Tovtards ffictive place brand ntanagemenl Tabte 6.2 Employment in the high-tech sector in the Province of Grosseto Grosseto Tot. Region Tot' ItalY 42 59 '% HT employment on total employment ofthe Province ofGrosseto (1991) 61 % HT employment on total employment 30 46 ofthe Province ofGrosseto (2001) ,9.7 % change olthe HT emPloYment 16 6 ll3 1991 2001 80 o/u change of total emPloYment 21 47 1991 2001 Source Istat. Table 6.3 The openness of Grossettt econom)) 7.8 Grosselo 92 8.5 TUSCANY 39.6 40.2 ITALY 39.5 41.0 43.0 Sourte: Istituto C Tagliacarne. Parallel to this, Grosseto shows a serious gap in all innovation-related indexes, especially compared to a dynamic high-tech Tuscany' Grosseto has no university, but just a small teaching branch of the University of Siena, and only a few, minor research centres' R&D expenditure as percentage of local GDP is estimated to be only 0.22 (as against 1.06 for ilrr"any und 3.50 for Pisa, ranking first in the Region)' Employment in high-te;h companies is at the bottom end in the ranking of Tuscan prov- inóes and even shows a negative trend between 1991 and 2001 in sharp contrast with the rest of the Region (Table 6'2)' Looking at more fashionable indices does not improve the outlook for Grosseto. with respect to the 'creativity Index' à la Florrda, Grosseto ranks 40th in Italy (63rd for talent, 54th for technology, 30th for toler- ance),whileFirenzeranks5thandPisaranksl3th(TinagliandFlorida, 2005). Last but not least, the development of the Province is affected by the low openness to the international economy (Table 6'3)' The unìertain urban characters of the city of Grosseto are one of the main features of the area and, according to Some, one of the most serious handicaps for its economic development. The weaknesses of Grosseto have never deep roóts in history. Until the Italian unification (1861), Grosseto Managing Otherness: the case of Tuscany 101 had a real autonomy nor a local noble class (being therelore 'directed' by outsiders from the neighbouring city of Siena or from Florence). Even when becoming provincial capital within the new Kingdom of Italy, the city maintained its non-urban, predominantly rural characters. It was considered an uncomlortable place to live and work. When the summer heat was at its peak, public oflìces were moved to a neighbouring village, with a better climate. The rural character was lurther emphasized during Fascism for politicar and ideological reasons. Grosseto and its province were often relerred to as the example of the 'sound' rural Italy. As Mussolini himself put it in 1930, 'within five or ten years, all of your province must be ploughed by roads, hundreds of houses must rise and will rise to host the rural population'. Alter War World II, Grosseto remained what was defined as a 'city not- withstanding' ('Città malgrado': Elia, 2003). The city grew essentially by ,melting attracting people from the countryside, but never worked as a real pot' and never gave birth to some kind of new identity. Other migrations to Grosseto and its province were on the contrary directed from outside: the people from Veneto region to settle in the reclaimed areas ol Maremma; the military personnel in the barracks of the city of Grosseto; and now arso tourists themselves in their'second houses'. At the same time, intellectuals and the potential members ol new elites have been flowing away from the city to look for greater opportunities in bigger towns. Being the 6Other Tuscany' Thus, the image of Grosseto Province is shaped by the wide, intact, rural spaces of Maremma, the area surrounding the city. Traditionally the land- scape has been the dominating element emphasized by travellers. One of the masterworks of Italian cinema ('Il sorpasso', 1962), a kind of .road movie', has passed on the image of a land to travel through, to be looked at lrom a car's window. 'This is a land where man has lived in respectlul admiration for centuries', a land where nature has dominated man, rather than the other way around. The main icon is provided by îhe butero, alocal cowboy bravely facing wild nature. A statr-re was dedicated to him in the rail station square, wel- coming travellers arriving to the city (Figure 6.3). The myth has survived the end of his economic role. Old stories narrate about the legendary chal- lenge of the butteri to the American cowboys, touring Italy with Buffalo Bill in 1890. To be a buttero is a way of life: still today fhe lttLttero symbor- izes the values of hard work and respect for traditions. A very powerful image of the area derives from a book written in l95j by a local writer, Luciano Bianciardi (Bianciardi, 1957). In this peculiar t02 Towards ffictive place brand managemenl Source: NicolaBellini. Figure 6.3 The statue of the bullero work (indeed an essay in a novel's style) the author sketches an animated discussion between'erudite' locals about the origins of the city of Grosseto: '. . .in our city there were learned, erudite and intellec looking for its origins'. 'Medievalists' set the birth 1138 when Grosseto became a diocese. On the cont believed in an undoubted and illustrious Etruscan origin: 'Our city was born in the heart of the Etruscan civilization, who was set up here for the healthy air, richness of forests and fertile to the younger generation, 'determined to break w of its ioundation was 1944:'The origins of the city ation? But it was 7944,no doubt. Before that time, it did not exist, the Americans had established it. . .'. In the same essay a young American visitor suggests that Grosseto looks very much like his own town, Kansas City, a town 'open to the wind andio the foreigners', 'not resembling any other Italian town'. Such Managing Otherness. the case o;f Tu,scany 103 imagery has been very successful, although one can hardly figure out anything more distant from the standard Tuscan stereotype. Grosseto/ Kansas City is a borderline town, with an uncertain identity. Grosseto, like Kansas City and unlike the 'great Tuscany', is a 'cowtown': simple, small, isolated, unsophisticated. Grosseto, like Kansas City and unlike the 'noble Tuscany', forgets its past and concentrates on recent history, when its city status was recognized. To sum up, Grosseto, like Kansas City, is an open city, meaning there is a lack of 'owners' of its identity. Grosseto is 'periphery'. In fact the idea itself of being a periphery is cultural and psychological much more than 'objective'. It is related to the new dependence of Grosseto lrom Florence, first in the age of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and later (since the 1970ù with the establishment of the Regional government. From a mere geographical point of view, there is no such thing as the marginality of Grosseto, that is located right in the centre of the country (see again Figure 6.2). For example, the 'need' lor a local airport is often argued on the basis ofthe excessive distance from the regional airports of Florence and Pisa (160 km). At the same time Grosseto is only 170 km distant lrom the main Italian airport and international hub, Rome Fiumicino. Clearly marginality is more a matter of perceptions and stereotypes rather than an objective reality. Grosseto is the 'other Tuscany'. The 'otherness' of Grosseto has more than one meaning: 'being atypical and being peculiar are also the juxtaposed terms by which the local society and its elite have portrayed themselves in their relationship with the external world' (D'Agnelli, 2003). Possibly the most consistent effort to re-build an identity based on pride and diversity has been realized during the two terms olAlessandro Antichi as mayor of Grosseto (1991 2005). This controversial, conservative, anti-communist lawyer defeated the left-wing government of the city by emphasizing the reaction to the widespread feeling of decline and by pro- posing a new rhetoric of development (in his words, 'a ne\ry renaissance'), based on the otherwise lost local identity. He was also a provocative and imaginative manager of symbols and icons, including monuments and cultural events. One famous photograph portrays him as a defìant, proud (but also modern and bourgeois!) replica of fhe buttero, while taming a cow (Figure 6.4). Differences may then also reveal a new, positive and dynamic develop- ment model based on a greater weight of rural environment and therefore (especially in a post-industrialist, environmentalist approach) on a new tourism relying on 'a network of environment, natural resources, rural dimension, rural and artisan products of high quality'. Maremma is the land of escapes: not only for the lrustrated metropolitan inhabitants looking for a slice of slow life, but, e.g., also for social experimenters like 104 Towards effective place brand managemenf Source: www.alessandroantichi org Figure 6.4 MaYor A. Antichi the founders of the Christian community of Nomadelfia (a community early where private ownership is abolished according to the myths of Christianity) posi- Therefore Maremma can also be opposed to classic Tuscany in a tive sense. classic Tuscany would offer cities of art, the most celebrated glit- monuments, but also noisy and inattentive crowds of tourists and tering outlets, while 'the other" 'unexpected' Tuscany would offer un- cong-ested landscape, rural values, high quality environment' naturalistic and historical values: in other words, a different, greater authenticity' .un-sophisticated genuineness' that gives'emotions'. These are indeed the Leitmotiv of tourist marketing: fla- Meant for those who love to travel, in search of color-rrs, fragrances, sounds, traveller who vours olthe Maremma: a iand you must lìve, love and visìt. The nature, wishes to awaken his emotions with a lifestyle linked to traditions and Managing Otherness: the case of Tuscany t05 has only to come to Tuscany, in the fascinating Maremma region. Maremma is a lifestyle. . . consisting ofthe sea, nature, archaeology, craltsmanship, sport, good food. . . and much more. Today, more than ever, the Maremma is the perfect choice for the romantic traveller. Nature here is not an asset nurtured by history and consciously shaped in accordance to a specific identity. Rather it is the result of a limited industrial development in the past. Wide spaces are then offered as an opportunity to investors. According to official brochures, the 'first reason' to invest in Grosseto is that the area has had a 'peculiar development' conpared to the rest of the Region, leaving the natural aspect almost intact and 'untouched' by excessive industrial and urban settlements: 'this offers today the possibility to design new investment projects without being constrained by previous situations'. The local discourse echoes the different meanings of this 'otherness'. The maremmani llke to show the pride of their being different, but the political debate seems to be obsessed by the problems of being'periphery', with a kind of (sometimes unjustified) inferiority complex that is a ready- made alibi for all failures in solving the economic and social problems of the area. Thus, another icon of Grosseto is the 'Canapone', the nickname of the last granduke ofTuscany, Leopold II and also ofits beautiful statue in the main square of the city (Figure 6.5). This granduke had a special paternal- istic 'affection' lor this area and indeed was committed to the solution of its main problems, starting with malaria. In his testament he refers, almost poetically, to Maremma as 'the first sick region, needing help, and yet so beautiful and rich of hopes'. The locals rewarded this love with a statue that portrays him, dressed up like an ancient roman, raising a distressed, sick lady with an act of pity and encouragement. To contemporary eyes! this is also an icon to the sense oflrustration ofthe area and to the expec- tation of external help as the most likely solution to local problems. BRANDING FUTURE TUSCANY Images of the Regional Industry Tuscany is a strong brand in tourism, but not for industry and not even lor the lood industry. The 'region-of-origin' effect is weak. According to the above quoted survey, only 60 per cent of German consumers link some lood product to Tuscany (mostly wine and oil); among American and Japanese consumers this share drops to 7 per cent. As far as the fashion r06 Towards efièctive place brand managemenÍ Source: Nicola Bellini Figure 6.5 The 'Canapone' industry is concerned, only 12 per cent of German consumers and 3 per cent of consumers in the US and Japan know some Tuscan grffi. By far the brand that is most clearly identified as Tuscan is Gucci. Prada and Ferragamo are recognized as Tuscan only by a small minority. Moreover, among the brands that are mentioned as Tuscan there are also non-Tuscan brands such as Armani and Benetton, showing how the Tuscan image easily disappears into the stronger 'made in Italy' brand. No connection Managing Olhernes,s: the case of Tuscany l0'7 emerges between other major made-in-Tuscany brands (e.g. î.he Vespa motorscooter) and the region. Even when we move from general consumers to professional buyers, only 60 per cent of the sample recognize a positive value in a 'made in Tuscany' product compared to a 'made in Italy' product. Many of the positive factors attached to the Tuscan origin of the product are mere repetition of the traditional factors characteizing 'made in Italy' prod- ucts (Cavalieri,200l:19 et seq. and28 et seq.). To some tourists (like the Japanese), rather than a place of origin of prestigious products, Tuscany is an excellent location for shopping (Cavalieri, 2001:36). The Tuscan economy, therefore, seems to be able to exploit the high visibility of the Tuscany brand only in a very limited measure. Can a strong image give a substantial contribution to cognitive. social and political lock-ins? The case of Tuscany seems to suggest that this is possible. The tourist image of Tuscany is intimately consistent with a popular vision of the future development of the Tuscan economy that assumes the exit from the manu- facturing sector as unavoidable and in fact desirable. According to this post-industrial vision, tourism, services, agri-food industries and other environmentally sustainable enterprises should substitute manufacturers in creating value and sustaining income levels. This vision has been increasingly influential, although never made it to 'get hold' of the political agenda. Regional and local governments have mostly confirmed their allegiance to 'industrialist' visions, even in front of the crisis of the few large corporations present in the Region. This has happened with two (complementary, but sometimes juxtaposed) variations: the belief in the alternative model of development provided by smaller companies in the 'industrial districts'vs. the belief in the evolution towards a neo-industrial scenario, characferized by service-manufacturing integration, high levels of R&D activity and an increasing role of high-tech companles. Both industrialist visions had images olTuscany that could be conveyed to the general public. On the one hand, the industrial district vision built a powerful intellectual myth olan alternative economic model, mixing coop- eration and competition, capitalist growth and social stability. Only in one case, i.e. the city of Prato, one has openly made reference to and empha- sized the role of manufacturing tradition as a constituent part of the image of the city. More recently, due to the ups and downs of the economy, the general perception of industrial districts has been more frequently linked to crisis and de-industrialization rather than to success and growth. On the other hand, the neo-industrial vision has developed its own brand, 'ArnoValley'. The obvious reference to Silicon Valley is here combined with the lact of the geographic concentration of high-tech 108 Towards efièctive place brand management Monaging Otherness: the case of Tuscany 109 arrangements in order to pursue their own objectives under the broader coalition's aims. The municipalities also suffered lrom not being at the appropriate scale of jurisdiction, not representing other smaller, but not less active municipalities (such as Pontedera and Empoli). Their own com- mitment was also very much dependent on the personalities involved and clearly declined when the political leaders of the project lelt their jobs. Other competing projects were allowed to emerge with no greater success or scope of action (e.g. the so-called Progeîto California), but for sure not helping communication and community-building efforts. The result was a weak and vague brand identity proposition that was rejected by more established and stronger identities. Actually, the need to dialogue with the deeply rooted Tuscan identity was often overlooked. Especially during the first stage, instead of reducing the conflicting poten- tial in order to harmonize contemporary and traditional assets within an 'umbrella identity', the high-tech was superficially communicated as a 'potential economic miracle' able to 'radically upset the traditional pro- ductive and social fabric' of Tuscany. This promise was accepted with scepticism by the industrial and political establishment and in fact proved to be undeliverable when the new economy bubble burst. The bluff was revealed and ArnoValley fìnally delegitimized. In conclusion, also due to the weak perception of the need to brand industrial Tuscany, the strength of the traditional image succeeded in preventing the emergence of new ones, that could reflect the vision of more dynamic industries and social groups. Heritage and the Forgotten Past The role of cultural heritage here comes into play, showing how different images and visions are built upon a very selective narration of the region's history and shared values. Facing the inability to sustain a 'dissonant' discourse on regional heritage (cf. Tunbridge and Ashworth, 1996), the emphasis on a romantic, anti-modern, 'naturaf image of Tuscany, the obsession with 'preserving the past' and the stubborn reluctance to modern additions has been clearly instrumental to the post-industrial vision of regional economic development. Thus heritage has failed to contribute to the regional innovation culture, i.e. to the shaping of those institutions (norms, values, formal, informal) that have a signifìcant influ- ence on the perceptions of actors involved in innovation process (Didero et al., 2008). The dominant manipulation of heritage as entertainment for tourists, typical of the 'cities of art' (as distinguished lrom the 'cities of culture': Sacco et al., 2008) is based on forgetting. When nature is indicated as the 110 Tottards effective place brand management building. a 'high The itrength of this collecti express culture district' (.cf .LazzeretIi, private and communicate innovation' Managing Otherness; the case oJ Tuscan-v I l l the characters of contemporary creative cities (Hospers,2004) providing a reminder of the lact that 'the most successful heritage cities are those ol sufficient size to offer numerous amenities, including heritage, but not dominated by it' (Graham,2002:1014). The recent debate about the new entrance to the UlÌzi Museum and the innovative proposal by Arata Isozaki (fìnally cancelled in2004) has led the distinguished art historian Irving Lavin (2005) to comment about 'the bitter irony that is behind the conservative mood that dominates in Florence right in Florencel and suffocates the spirit of adventure and innovation that created the city we all love and admire, where the notion itself of modernity was born. The Cathedral itself, and especially Brunelleschi's dome, would be surely prohibited today (. .) Florence has become a stone-made Disneyland'. The'Other Tuscany', Once Again Unsurprisingly, Tuscany shows a great dificulty in brands, as serious inconsistencies easily emerge in m different targets (e.g. tourists vs. foreign investors). Tensions emerge. The emphasis on history clashes with the need to com- municate an orientation to the future (like textile. clothing, shoe-making and other lashi s) may more easily make reference to the past, this for modern industries, like the automotive, electronics, biotech or chemical industry. contrasts are then dramatized. The New Deal of the Tuscan System', from traditional manulactures to high-tech, looks more like a jump ll2 Ttnrards ffictive pkrc:e brand management between past forward, a surprising outcome rather than an obvious bridge and future: 'The time runs unexpected roads' In Tuscany'' Furthermore modernity seems to threaten genuineness. Modern fea- not tures in farmhouses (like swimming pools) need to be explained as 'artificial', but expression of a humanized approach' that makes living the comfortable by our standards today, as they were centuries ago for people ofthe Past. An additional, even more dramatic tension exists between industrial As landscapes and the Tuscan landscapes as communicated to tourists' rather than it is oftèn the case with advertising, communication reveals meaning clownplays these tensions. For example, playing on the double ideal' of the wórd'natural' (related to nature, on the one hand' and right' 'The obvious, on the other) place marketing suggests that Tuscany is natural choice of your business location'. More evocative analogies are cypresses sometimes attempted' For example see Figure 6'6, a group of shouldportraythequalityoflocalsocialcapitalandtheattitudeto In networking among economic actors (like in the 'industrial district')' horizontal the end, trrgtr quatìty and excellence seem to be the only truly featuresof.lo,.unythatareabletoSupportumbrellabrandseffectively' and excelience concern lifestyle, society, landscape' education' Quality jewellery, fàod and wine, environment, traditional products (fashion, make one textile), new products. Irony helps: 'also an imperfection may extraordinary, as in 'In Tuscany' (see Figure 6'7)' Again, dué to the strength of tourism's stereotypes, important features need also to of tÈe Region, such as thè presence of a high-tech industry' relationship be labelleé as the 'other Tuscany', suggesting a problematic withtheidentityoftheRegion.ThePresidentoftheRegion,visiting Tuscany as Japan in early Zl0l, referred to Research and Technology in Region, an unknown face, to many an unexpected 'the other face' of the .re-discovered': one (.Tuscany aS you di<1n,t expect,), that deserves to be .Leonardowasagreatscientisttooandwewanttodemonstratethatstill of style' today we are an advanced technology and research land' not only wine and tourism'. CONCLUSION ThischapterhasemphasizedthemanyweaknessesinherentinTuscany's task not only strong image. Branding Tuscany is a technically challenging because of the becau-se oithe inertia of the many stereotypes, but also manypolicyimplicationsthatare.hidden,behindbrands.Inparticular and including we notice that a strong brand can be as effective in linking >r .aù F- ;ù 4 OÈ-tr5^ Y: c^ ; \J !L v1 l\ tI3 \ à 4 l'- .a i! :^ cr9q\ È r..- .ù \o :oa qq 1t4 fuIanagù'tg Otherness' the case oJ'Tuscuny I l-5 as it is in excluding regional sub-areas as well as social groups. Of course, otherness may be considered either in its negative or in its positive srgnifi- cance. However, the stronger the collective image, the greater should be the attention to branding, as a way to legitimize new social groups, emerg- ing industries and alternative models of development.